Team Arrow: Above and Beyond
by Stories foreva
Summary: A collection of Arrow One Shots! Most will be Olicity or at least have hints of Olicity, but it all depends on my muse! They will of course not follow all spoilers and et cetera, but just ideas that came to mind! Chap2-"You'd think it would be a lot more likely then me breaking up with her, you idiot." Oliver shook his head with a scowl. "Do you think I really want to ruin my life?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: First of all, I own nothing. Of course I don't.**

**I meant this to be just a drabble, but it kind of just...kept going. Oh well. I hope every enjoys.**

* * *

Oliver Queen was not in a good mood.

At all.

He had spent his entire day in meetings in attempts to retake control of his company, but he hadn't had any luck thus far. No investors were willing to chance anything with a Queen, none that Oliver would want involved in his life, anyway. Nor did he have any luck going through the legal system to regain control of the company. The Board of Directors were unsure if they wanted to have anything to do with him, instead preferring to sell Isabelle's shares to someone of better reputation. Oliver would gladly take any helpful advice on the matter, because his brain was fried for ideas. He didn't have a clue in what he could do next.

"Maybe you should give up on Queen Consolidated. Move on."

Oliver slowly spun his chair around to face one of his closest friends and member of Team Arrow, as Felicity so affectionately called their group; John Diggle. He offered Oliver one of the cups in his hands, which Oliver accepted graciously and gulped down a long sip of the steaming liquid. Enjoying coffee was usually a habit that Oliver only participated in with Felicity, but it had grown on him due to the long days he had been spending as of late. He still preferred to participate the hobby with the beautiful blonde, though.

"You know I can't do that. I owe those people," Oliver drank another sip of the coffee as he rose out of his chair, "And I refuse to give up one them. Not now."

Diggle leaned against the desk, absently sifting through the files that Felicity had left to look at later. "You have been working yourself too thin, Oliver. You can't keep up the pace you are going at; what, have you had more than an hour of sleep per night all week?"

Oliver threw his hands into the air, shaking his head. "Do you know what happens when someone completely new takes over a company like Queen's Consolidated? They clean house, get ride of all the old fashioned and stubborn people that refuse to change or don't like the new blood, per se. The higher up workers? Gone. Anyone who shows the tiniest bit of loyalty to the old guy? Out on the streets. I will not," Oliver put his coffee down, shaking his head. "Let anyone else lose their jobs due to my family."  
"Have you ever though, Queen, that maybe it isn't in your hands anymore? That maybe you just need to move on, because you have run out of options?" Diggle took the last sip of his coffee and tossed the cup in the trashcan by the desk.

"I. Won't. Give. Up." Oliver hissed through gritted teeth, turning around and slamming his hands on his desk. The action caused a cup of pens to tip over and flood the desk with different pens, all over Felicity's keyboard. Diggle arched an eyebrow, nodding towards the pens.

"You can't be both the vigilante and keep working like this; it isn't healthy and I won't let you. I would suggest that you clean that mess up before Felicity gets here, or else she will have your head. We all know if she wasn't such a coffee addict that she would have your head for that too."

Oliver's mind went to the intelligent blonde. Felicity Smoake was...unlike any woman he had ever met. Her brilliant smile, the way that it could light up a room and make you believe everything was going to be alright. The way she rambled when she got embarrassed, her cheeks reddening brightly upon realization of what she had said. The vulnerability he had seen in her eyes a few times, not to mention the pain. Oliver knew he would do anything to keep her from feeling pain, if she could live without misery or distress for the rest of her life. The light feeling in his chest that accompanied Felicity's presence. The way that he wanted to right by her, how he wanted to be the best person in the world, just for her. Her lips...

"Oliver!" Diggle snapped his fingers, drawing Oliver back to reality. Oliver hated the knowing smirk on Diggle's face, instead turning away and picking up the pens.

"Are you sure there isn't another reason that you want to keep Queen's Consolidated? Something to do with the fact that you don't want to lose Felicity?"  
Oliver didn't bother to respond, returning to the chair and picking up his coffee cup. "Where is Felicity, anyway?"

"I don't know." Diggle shrugged, but he adverted his eyes and fiddled with Felicity's files. "I think she said that the Mckinney was hiding out on Maple Ave, didn't she? Once Roy gets here, I'm pretty sure that we could take him down. She's left pretty detailed..."  
Oliver pointed at him, eyes narrowing. "You're lying. You know where she is."  
"Instructions that I think will be good enough. I doubt that we need to much for just the minor scheming.." Diggle continued, words exiting his mouth quickly and in a way that Oliver would barely be able to understand them, if he did care about what Felicity had left. Oliver himself had stood up and taken a few steps towards Diggle, attempting to force him to meet his eyes. Diggle wouldn't.

"Where. Is. She?" Oliver demanded, crunching the coffee cup and dropping it into the trash angrily. "Diggle..."  
"Oliver, you need to calm down." Diggle advised, his shoulders tensing as he finally let his eyes rise to meet Oliver's. There was a question in the vigilante's eyes, one that Diggle answered with a quick nod. Oliver's face paled, his hands rolling into a tight fist as he stared at Diggle for a few, silent moments. Moments that seemed everlasting, moments that were carefully killing Oliver as they passed.

Oliver broke eye contact, glancing at the Arrow's suit, but turning away from it and moving to the stairs. Diggle grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop as he shook his head. "Oliver, don't do anything rash."

Oliver jerked out of his grip, eyes flashing. "I do what is necessary."

* * *

The waiting area outside Marigold Industries CEOs office was pleasant. White leather chairs and couches were lined up orderly, placed so that waiters could enjoy the beautiful paintings on the bright yellow walls. The floor was a shiny black tile.

"Miss Smoak." Felicity's eyes flashed upwards and she stood up, cheeks flushing a light pink at allowing herself to daze out while she waited for an interview. The speaker was a male, one whom didn't seem to be much older than Oliver, or Diggle, and whom could be deemed attractive, as much as Felicity dreaded the thought. Why couldn't be nerdy, or in his fifties with a receding hair line? She wouldn't grow flustered around that type of man.

He was built, with dark black hair and bright green eyes. Felicity stepped forwards, holding her hand out to shake his hand as etiquette insisted. It was times like these that she was glad that she had dressed fashionably, with an attractive light pink dress that was modest enough for an interview, but clung just enough to the right areas to deem her attractive. The man smiled at her, showing a full mouth of snow white teeth that were lined perfectly. His hand enclosed around her own, squeezing tightly before letting go and gesturing to the room he had appeared from. "Ladies first."  
Felicity laughed nervously, making her way to enter the office. As luck would have it, her heel got caught on a sticky spot on the tile floor and she tripped. The man flashed forwards and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to a steady standing position and sending her a comforting smile. "All right, there?"

Felicity's cheeks burned red. "Yes, thank you. I'm a little clumsy, as you can see. I always have been. Once when I was younger I fell into my mother's bathroom and I was allowed a very private view of..." She snapped her mouth shut, her hands flying to her mouth. Felicity swallowed with much effort and instead focused on the man's office. The entire back wall was made of glass, but the others were a steady white that allowed the room to have a brightening effect. His desk sat in the middle,a fancy desk made of granite on the top and other such stones for the legs. A trio of white chairs similar to the furniture in the waiting room sat in front of the desk. The man sat down behind his desk, gesturing for Felicity to take a seat in front of him.

"I've heard that you are a very charming woman, Miss Smoak. My expectations were rather high, considering that testimonial. It seems that I won't be disappointed." He smiled again. Felicity couldn't help but feel that his smile wasn't quite right, but she forced herself to throw the thought out of her mind.

"I'm unique." Felicity sat at the edge of the chair, crossing her feet to relieve some nerves. "Or so I've been told,Mr..."

The man chuckled, nodding. "That you are. Where are my manners, I am , but I would be delighted if you would call me Daniel. I feel so old when people use my sir name, don't you agree?"

Felicity let out a nervous laugh, briefly reminded of her first meeting of Oliver. At the time, she had thought he was just a spoiled rich boy, but the way he had charmingly smiled at her...

_"Felicity Smoak?" Felicity's heart quickened at the sound of a man's voice as she spun on her chair, grabbing the pen she had rested against her lips out and holding it in her hand. He was extremely attractive, wearing a shirt that displayed his muscular build, along with his beautiful blue eyes and his hair..._

_"Hi." The handsome man was talking and it dawned on her at the exact moment he introduced himself who he was. "I'm Oliver Queen." _

_"Of course! I know who you are, ." She laughed to draw some of the nervous energy out of herself. She twisted her feet and smiled at him, attempting to be as pleasant as possible without embarrassing herself. _

_"No." Was it just her, or did his eyebrows raise slightly as he spoke the word. "Mr. Queen was my father." _

_"Right, but he's dead," It only took a second for her to realize how heartless she sounded and she rushed to add on something that would display more sensitivity. "I mean he drowned. But you didn't, which means that you can come down to the IT Department...and listen to me babble." She exhaled deeply, but Oliver didn't seem upset. Actually, he seemed amused, which made her want to smile. He had nice lips, she noticed. She wondered what it would be like tor reach up and touch her lips to his..._

"I haven't had experience with that much, sir, but I would imagine so." Now so wasn't the time to be thinking about Oliver and his perfectly kissable lips. She faked another smile. Her eyes caught on a flash of movement on the street below, but she forced herself to return her gaze to Daniel. "That's a nice name, Daniel."

"Thank you." His eyes had darkened and Felicity twisted in her seat. She somehow had the feeling that her brief distraction hadn't gone unnoticed, and that Daniel hadn't appreciated it either. "I can't say that Felicity is a common name. I find it pretty, nonetheless."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"You should." His voice was almost too pleasant, as if he had faked it. His intense stare sent shivers down his spine and he stood up, walking over to a mini fridge on the opposite side of the room. "I was very pleased to here that you were looking for a job. I've heard that your accomplishments were remarkable." He bent down, opening the door to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of what looked to be champagne. He moved behind her, sending even more shivers down her spine. Not pleasant shivers, either, but shivers that made her hair stand on end and her heart beat faster. She twisted in her seat to see that he had moved to a cupboard she hadn't noticed earlier in her inspection of the room. He easily grabbed two Champagne glasses and moved beside her, his hips brushing against her shoulder. He set a glass down and opened the bottle, pouring bubbly liquid into the cup and then returning to behind his desk. "I actually was surprised to hear that the new CEO of Queen Consolidated hadn't made all efforts to keep you there. They have found a new CEO, haven't they?"

"Not yet." Felicity glanced at the glass, wondering if she should drink it or not. Something told her that it wouldn't be wise to drink the liquid, but the look he was giving her made her sure that he expected her to. "I don't usually..."

"Drink?" Daniel laughed, picking up his own glass and raising it to his lips. "Humor me, my dear. Have to let your hair down sometime, right?"

Felicity glanced at the glass, preparing to refuse again, but he set his glass down and leaned across his desk. "Drink, Felicity. I would hate to have your throat get dry in our interview, wouldn't you? Besides, I want you to understand that us at Marigold are very hospitable."

Felicity reluctantly raised the glass and took a long sip. The champagne was deliciously cold and she couldn't help but drink another sip, followed by another, until her whole glass was gone. Daniel laughed and tipped the bottle into her glass as Felicity watched the foamy liquid rise back up the top.

"Back to matters at hand, the job I feel will be a great match for you. The official title is IT Director, and I figure that thirty dollars would be good starting pay? If that isn't enough, I'm sure we could arrange..."

"I think I could manage on that, if I did get the job." Felicity inwardly cursed at herself. She somehow felt that interrupting her potentially future boss would not be a good way to impress him. He only chuckled.

"If you get the job? Felicity, I'm not sure you understand your abilities. There is no question as if you will get the job. I can offer you the position right now. Hours would be eight to five, five days a week at least. We may need you overtime, understandably." Daniel stood up again, smiling. "When can you start?"  
Felicity choked on her champagne. "I haven't accepted yet! I will need some time, you see, consult with some people, think it over..."  
"Consult with , I suppose?" Daniel's smile seemed absolutely deathly now. A cold, merciless smile that she had seen on the face of murderers, right when they believed they had won. "I've heard that he seems to have you in extremely high regard. I can't help but wonder if that has something to do with how you rose so quickly to power, once he became CEO."  
Felicity gaped, slamming her champagne glass down on the desk. "Are you insinuating that my relationship with Oliv...Mr. Queen is anything but simple platonic friendship?"  
Daniel walked around his desk, standing so that he was behind her. His hand flashed towards her hair, pulling out a few pins so that it would roll down her back. "I didn't insinuate anything, Felicity. But you do seem awfully defensive for being just friends."  
"Oliver sees me as nothing but a friend, Mr. Marigold, I can promise you that."  
Daniel shook his head, his hand instead going to her shoulder. "Is that so? I have a hard time believing that, considering how attractive of a woman you are."

"I am not!" Felicity objected, standing up so his hand fell of her shoulder. "Oliver sees me just a friend, really. He has had plenty of girlfriends while we've been friends; I would think that would stand out enough to you to realize there is nothing between us. I worked to get where I am and that is that!"

"I've heard, however, that Oliver does have a line of girlfriends at his door. Perhaps friendship is better, in your eyes."

Felicity wondered absently how her interview had gotten so off track. She gritted her teeth and tipped her head, looking up at Daniel through narrow eyes. "I take that means our interview is concluded, then, ?"  
"Daniel, my dear." Daniel reached forwards and grasped her hand, bringing it to his lips. "I hope to hear from you soon, got it, my love?"

Felicity jerked her hand from his grip and turned to dash from the office, but he blocked the doorway, shaking his head."My dear, you forgot to drink the rest of your champagne!"

Felicity looked back at the half drunk glass, grip tightening on her purse. "I really need to leave, Daniel. I'm not quite feeling well."  
Daniel frowned, but he nodded sympathetically. He dipped down and kissed her cheek before stepping aside, motioning for her to pass.

She walked steadily until she was out of view, before rushing to the elevator and jamming her finger to the button. It didn't light and she jammed it again, panic starting to rise in her chest as she spun around, looking around wildily for a sign that would direct her to the stairs.

* * *

Oliver considered himself to be a pretty fearless person. He had very few fears; he wasn't afraid of public speaking, and he certainly wasn't afraid of dying.

The one thing that did scare Oliver, however, was the fear of losing someone he cared about. Especially Felicity.

He had never felt what he felt towards Felicity to anyone else, ever. He didn't even understand what he felt towards Felicity. He knew he had loved his fair share of women; Laurel, Sara, Mckenna, he had even felt strongly for Helena, for a time, but he had never felt with any of those woman like he felt towards Felicity. Originally, he had believed it was simply because he had a brotherly relationship like Diggle did, but that was pure naiveity and longing to protect her. He knew how he felt towards Theo, and that was not how he felt towards Felicity. Not even close.

He had wanted to barge right into the building of Marigold Industries, but had reluctantly thought better of it when he realized he wasn't in the Arrow suit. Daniel was usually a man that used subtle gestures to get what he wanted, so as much as Oliver hated to admit, Felicity shouldn't be in any immediate danger. He instead crawled on an old fire escape ladder on the building across Marigold Industries to a height that allowed him view of Daniel's office. Daniel had taken over for his father in the five years that Oliver himself had been missing, but he knew the family well enough. Marten Marigold himself was on the list of people that his father had given to him, but he had been brutally murdered a few months before Oliver had returned. Oliver had went to school with Daniel, however, and knew enough to know that Daniel was not a better version of his father. Worse, if imaginable. Oliver had sent Roy to check in on him, once, but he wasn't able to find any evidence that Daniel had done anything illegal. He wasn't kind, and often fired employees if they spoke against him, but he had yet to take an illegal route. Unless, of course, he had someone else do it for him. That wouldn't surprise him. Though, Oliver had been a bit busy lately to visit him as Arrow to give him a warning. That wasn't much his style anyway. Not anymore.

Oliver swore under his breath when Felicity took the champagne from Daniel, seemingly after some arguing, and he longed to force his way into the building and send the man a few punches, but since he wasn't in disguise, that hardly seemed intelligent. Especially when he had yet to do something that could count Felicity needing self defense. Unless he had slipped drugs in her drink, but that seemed unlikely, from what Oliver had saw. Felicity was nervous, that was easy enough to tell. He pulled himself up another bar on the fire ladder to get a better view, a movement that he swore Felicity saw by the steady look she was sending his way, but she quickly adverted her eyes and continued with the interview.

Oliver had tried so hard not to have feelings for Felicity, but every time he ended up falling for her even more. He loved the way she would smile at him, sometimes the only way she could ease some of her embarrassment, or the times when she genuinely would just smile for no reason. He wanted to reassure her every time he left as the Arrow and her eyes filled with concern and worry when she thought he wasn't paying attention. He wanted to take her into his arms every time she shot him that relieved look when he returned. He wanted to kiss her when she became flustered, heck, he wanted to kiss her most the time, whether she was flustered or not. No one would ever understand how much he wanted her to agree to dance with him that night, or how much it had hurt when he had allowed Barry to join her. He had felt as if someone was poking him with needles when he invited Barry to the dance/party. He didn't want her hurt, but somehow he had allowed her to become. Every time he allowed her to be used as bait he hated himself, and in truth, those words he had said at the Queen mansion in his 'act' for Slade had been a hundred percent true. He was a terrible liar, especially to her. He had realized that the first time he met her, with the bullet hole laptop had killed him, letting her think it was just a ploy. He loved Felicity Smoak.

Which is exactly why he didn't want to mess anything up. Wasn't it better to be in her life at least as friends than to lose her because he wanted more? Besides, he didn't want to endanger her even more than he already was.

Shaking his head, he focused more carefully on the interview. His phone buzzed and he moved to grab it, blinking in surprise when he realized it was Diggle. He answered it hesitantly, still focusing on Felicity.

"Queen, you were right. That man isn't to be trusted." Diggle sounded breathless and Oliver gripped the ladder tighter, waiting to here Diggle's discovery with as much patience as he could muster. "Felicity, being the sneak that she is, managed to call me so that I could hear what is going on. He sounds sneaky, Queen, and Felicity's tone tells me that she doesn't trust him an inch. Whatever is going on up there has completely freaked our girl out."

"Should I interrupt?" Oliver caught sight of Daniel pulling the pins out of her hair and began to slide down the ladder, not waiting for Diggle's answer. Diggle sighed on the line. "I don't know, Queen. I hate to have you barge in there, since you didn't take the time to dress as the Arrow, but..."  
"I'm going in, Diggle." Oliver looked at the tall building ahead of him, ending the call as he cursed quietly.

* * *

Felicity looked over her shoulder, back at Daniel's office door. The receptionist had gone home and Daniel's door was mostly shut, but she still didn't trust that he somewhat knew what was going on with the elevator. She grabbed her phone, smirking slightly at the picture of Diggle that showed she had successfully managed to dial him through her purse.

"Diggle?" She hissed into the line. Diggle muttered something about texting her and she looked at her phone, watching as the call ended and a text flashed in front of her face.

_Queen onsite. Should be coming up._

Felicity wanted to mutter darkly about not ever being able to trust John Diggle to keep his mouth shut, but she couldn't summon the energy. She glanced around, noticing a hallway off the side and she hoped to god that if she followed it, she could find a staircase. She glanced once more at Daniel's door, before ducking down the hallway and letting herself wander. Numerous meeting rooms lined the walls, a copy room, and she ended the hallway by almost running into thick glass doors. A peak at the sign above told her that she had somehow, miraculously, found the IT department. Surprising that it would be on the the same floor as the CEO, but she didn't have the time nor the energy to wonder about the architecture of the building. She was steadily becoming more tired and she swore the energy was draining out of her by the second. A brightly lit exit sign, visible through the IT Department offices announced an exit and she glanced once more over her shoulder before trying the doors. They wouldn't budge.

Felicity didn't usually swear. But at that moment, she allowed a few colorful words leave her mouth as she spun around and snuck back down the hall. There was another hallway on the opposite side of the elevators and she sighed before jabbing the button once more and continuing down the hallways.

Finally, by chance, she came across a small fire escape route map on the wall and she used her finger to follow her present floor, finding the available staircase.

Which unfortunately, was on the other side of Daniel's office.

She took a narrow breath before striding across the room, glancing quickly to make sure Daniel's door was still shut and then flashing towards the staircase, bursting through the stairway doors without a second thought and diving to start the first stair case right away. She had exactly thirteen flights of stairs to go through(luckily, the CEO office wasn't on the top of the building) but that would still take awhile considering the speed she would have to go in order not to trip.

It was when she got down three flights that she heard footsteps and she froze. It could be Oliver.

Or it could be one of Daniel's workers, in which, she didn't trust them at all. It wasn't a hard decision to decide to wait on the landing until she knew who it was, because she would be able to defend herself easier on flat ground than on the stairs. Felicity leaned against the wall, pressing ever possible inch of herself to it and allowing herself to catch her breath. She just had to wear heels, didn't she?  
The only sound were the approaching footsteps from below and her breath, which she tried to ease into a quieter sound.

She would never be able to describe the relief that she felt when Oliver's face came up the steps, looking fresh and pretty amazing for sprinting up ten flights of stairs. She moved away from the wall, meeting his eyes with a tad bit of fear that he would react exceptionally badly. He had told her not to accept the interview under very specific terms, and she had led him to believe she didn't plan on it. Oliver didn't look immediately angry, however. Relief was fresh on his face and he simply stared at her for a few moments, eyes scanning over her as if to make sure she physically was alright. Felicity hesitantly stepped closer, wishing that she could acknowledge her stupidity but her pride seemingly stopping her from doing so. "Felicity."

She loved the way he said her name. She let out a relieved sigh and stepped closer to him, not breaking their eye contact. She heard his name leaving her lips and she knew that he opened his arms to her. And of course she collapsed into them, because she knew no matter how terrible she felt, Oliver could make her feel better. Always.

"Damn you, you know that Felicity?" Oliver whispered into her ear, arms wrapped tightly around her back. She let out a soft laugh, glancing up at him before digging her head back into his shirt. "You scared the hell out of me."  
"I wasn't even kidnapped this time."  
Oliver let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, Felicity. There should never had been a time when you were kidnapped. That was my fault."

Felicity shook her head into his shirt. "We both know I have no problem finding trouble on my own. Remember, I had a stalker once."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckling, leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. "I know." It wasn't lost on him how much Felicity was depending on him, and to be honest, he worried at her sudden frailty. He ducked his right arm under her legs and easily lifted her, starting down the steps. Felicity momentarily wondered how he could manage ten flights of stairs with her in his arms.  
Her eyes fluttered shut and she intended them to stay that way, until she heard him swear and her eyes flashed open. They had reached the lobby.

But she hadn't expected to see Daniel there, leaning against the wall with a smirk playing on his lips. Oliver set Felicity on the ground, positioning her so that she was behind him. She felt weaker than before, and was about to say something when Daniel approached them.  
"I have to say, Queen, you sure know how to cramp a guy's style."  
Oliver scowled, his fingers rolling into fists. "You seem to have an elevator problem, Marigold."  
Daniel shrugged. "They worked fine for me."

Oliver growled, moving to punch him but feeling Felicity's grip on him, he stopped. "What do you really want with her, Marigold?"  
Daniel raised his eyebrow. "What makes you think that I haven't already accomplished exactly what I wanted, Queen?"

Felicity couldn't manage it anymore. Her knees trembled before collapsing under her and thew world darkened for her, losing all conscious thought.

"NO!" Oliver hollered, diving to Felicity's side and moving his hand to check her pulse. It was growing weaker, weaker by the second. Daniel laughed, coming beside her. "She wasn't supposed to leave, you know. I had planned that she would pass out on my floor."  
Oliver growled, diving for Daniel and pushing him to the ground. Daniel toppled over and he stood, spitting on to his body before glancing at Felicity. "What the hell did you do to her?"

Daniel laughed. "I couldn't just let her leave! She's much to special for that, you know." Daniel rolled over and dug in his pocket, taking out a phone and punching a few things on the screen with his thumb. "I'd imagine you would be very interested in hearing this."

_"Oliver sees me as nothing but a friend, Mr. Marigold, I can promise you that." _Oliver heard Felicity's voice sound from the phone, realizing in a quick moment that Daniel had taped the interview. For leverage, Oliver guessed.

_"Is that so? I have a hard time believing that, considering how attractive of a woman you are." _Daniel's own voice sounded from the phone and the actual Daniel winked at Oliver.

Oliver moved to punch the worthless scum, but something flew by him and landed right into Daniel's neck. Oliver spun around to see Diggle holding the tranquilizer darts, shrugging. Oliver dove to Felicity's side, grabbing her hand and pressing it to his lips. "Don't leave me, Felicity. God damn it, don't you leave me. I love you."

Diggle raised his eyebrow as he dialed something on his phone, but otherwise didn't say a word about Oliver's declaration of love.

Oliver hated waiting. He paced the waiting room once more, earning the looks of many as they unceremoniously gawked at him. It really was stunning how often ended up waiting in the waiting room since he himself had been behind the hospital doors over a year ago, after his return. Scary, even. Enough to piss him off, that was sure.

"Ollie!"

Oliver looked up as Laurel rushed to him, throwing her arms around him quickly with reassurance. "My father told me that Felicity was in the hospital. What happened?"  
Oliver sighed, wondering why her father also couldn't have explained the story to his daughter, whom was also the DA. "She was poisoned by Daniel Marigold." Laurel gasped, her hand going to rest over her lips. "Has my father arrested him?"

Oliver only blinked at her, and she shook her head and sighed. "Sorry, Ollie. Of course you wouldn't know. considering. How is she?"

"The doctors won't say. I'm not her emergency contact." Diggle was, Oliver thought bitterly. He never thought he'd be jealous of his friend, but right now, he was green with envy and longing. Diggle would know everything first. Who the hell knows when Oliver would get filled in.

"Who is?" Laurel asked curiously, eyebrow raised. Oliver opened his mouth to respond when he saw Diggle slip into the room, motioning for him to follow him. Oliver didn't even say his goodbyes as he stalked after one of his partners. Diggle sighed, stopping at a room before gesturing at it. "Felicity's inside. Hasn't woke up yet. They are analyzing the poison, but have given her the closest thing to a universal antidote that they have."

Oliver looked at the door, looking at Diggle quickly. "What do the doctors say her chances are?"

Diggle shrugged. "They're not sure. If she reacts to the antidote, fairly good. If she doesn't..."

Oliver opened the door before Diggle could finish and slipped to the chair beside Felicity's bed, grasping her hand as he rested his elbows on the bed and resting his head on top of it. "Please wake up."

"You love her, huh?" Oliver hadn't even noticed that Diggle had followed him into the room, staring at him with crossed arms. "Don't you think you ought to have mentioned to her?"

"She was safer not knowing." Oliver whispered, moving a fallen strain of hair out of her face.

"No." Diggle came to stand behind Oliver, resting his hand on his shoulder. "No she wasn't. Do remember our present location. Does this look safer?"

Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but Diggle shook his head and turned to Felicity's bed. "No, Oliver. How many times have we discussed that loving people only helps us? It makes us stronger, gives us something to fight for. Never has my love for Lila weakened me. It empowers me. It gives me a reason to return home every night if I can, gives me a reason to fight another day. But if it comes to protecting her, I would die for her. Every time." Diggle brushed his fingers against Felicity's forehead. "Without a second thought." Oliver stared at Felicity's face, pale and seeming to scream exhaustion even in her comatose state. Her hair surrounded her in blonde waves, beautiful blonde waves. Diggle rested his hand on Oliver's shoulder, looking sympathetic but stern all at the same time. "Felicity is going to be in danger everyday. It isn't a secret that she has helped the Arrow, and don't you go thinking that by firing her would help that. It wouldn't change a thing. They would still go after her. Wouldn't it be better, at least, for you both to just be happy?"  
Oliver's eyes didn't waver from Felicity's face, only moving in closer and picking her hand and bringing it to his face. "Wake up, Felicity."

Diggle muttered something under his breath as he turned and slid out the room, but Oliver was completely oblivious. He closed his eyes, inhaling the distant mix of Felicity's normal perfume under the overcoming smells of creams and hospital. "I need you. You are my only light when I am drowning in darkness. I would be nothing without you."  
His words were met with empty silence and he clenched his eyes even tighter, but nothing could stop the tear that rolled down his cheek and fell onto Felicity's hand.

"I hope you at least caught the douche bag." The words were a faint register in Oliver's brain and he slowly blinked his eyes until Felicity's face came into sight. Her eyes weren't on him, but instead trained on the doorway where Digg was standing, apparently. Oliver's heart quickened and he straightened, allowing his eyes to run over her in a clear examination of her well being.

"He won't be a problem anymore, Felicity." Diggle moved away from the door and onto the other side of Felicity's bed. He smiled at Oliver's awake state, nodding. "About time, sleeping beauty."  
"You should of woke me." Felicity's eyes traveled over to Oliver's face, her lips softening into a small smile. Oliver only now realized his hand was still holding Felicity's, rather tightly nonetheless. His brain was telling him that he should release it, but he didn't want to. He looked at Diggle momentarily and only repositioned himself so that he was in a more comfortable position, his hand still wrapped around Felicity's.

"Please. You need to sleep too, you know. You're not Superman or anything."  
Oliver chuckled. "That would be ridiculous. Do I look like I was raised on a farm in Kansas?"

"Exactly my point." Felicity smirked, eyebrow raising speculatively for a moment. "All vigilantes need to sleep, anyway. So no, I should not have woke you."

Oliver hadn't expected to smile at Felicity right now, directly after she was almost killed, but he did. Diggle made a face over Felicity's head and Oliver rolled his eyes.

Diggle met Oliver's eyes meaningfully before backing against the door and twisting the knob. "I'm going to run down and get you two some food. Be back in a bit."  
The meaning in his eyes was quite clear as he slid out the doorway; Talk to her, you idiot. Oliver would have laughed if he hadn't started to develop a shaking feeling in his chest and he sighed, the events of last night coming crashing around him all at once. The nervous sensation didn't last long, only to be replaced by pure anger. Anger at Marigold for poisoning Felicity in some twisted attempt to get to Oliver, anger at Diggle for refusing to tell him where Felicity was the moment he found out, anger at himself for not having noticed Felicity's absence sooner, and anger at Felicity for being so stubborn and refusing to listen to him when he told her that she shouldn't get involved with Marigold.

"I'm sorry, Oliver."  
The anger in his chest, at least the stuff directed at her, dissipated almost immediatly at her voice. His shoulders dropped and he ran his open hand over his face, nodding. "I know. But Felicity?"  
"Hmm?"

"You really should stop doing this to me. I don't think I can stand it."  
Felicity managed a light smile. "I'll try to avoid any more near death experiences this week."

Oliver shook his head. "I"m serious. Not just this week, either. I really don't know what I would do if I lost you."  
Felicity adverted her eyes almost instantly. "I'm sure you'd be fine. You have alot of people that care for you around. You don't really need me all that much, Arrow duties aside."  
Oliver dropped her hand and instead leaned across the bed and cupped her chin, forcing her head to turn so that she was looking at him. "I don't think you understand." His breath came out in shaky breaths but he forced forward, knowing that he would regret it if he didn't. "I wouldn't be fine. I would never be fine again. You are the only light in my life, the only person that brings me back to the light, that makes me want to fight for all of the darkness clouding around me, the person that makes me want to be better. I would do anything to be the guy that deserves you, but..." Oliver shut his eyes, mentally yelling at himself for being such a coward. "I don't think I ever could. I'm damaged, Felicity. You're whole and pure and amazing and..."  
"Stop." Felicity's words were only a whisper. "Don't you dare tell me how I don't deserve you. You may have this idea that you are some type of monster, some diseased person that can never be cured, but that isn't true. You may not be able to see the good within you, but I do. I see how you would do anything to protect not just the people you care about, but everyone in this city whom owes you nothing. You risk your life every night to make this city a better place. Believe it or not, Oliver, you have no obligation to fix this city. Not for what either your father or mother did, not even for what Thea did. The only price that Oliver Queen needs to pay is the price for himself, and I'm pretty damn sure you've paid that a million times over."

"I have to right the wrongs of what my father has family has done nothing but ruin this city in many ways..." Oliver argued, but Felicity's gaze hardened.

"We are not responsible for our family's mistakes. If we were," Oliver noticed a faint shimmer of a tear streak down Felicity's cheek and he drew his thumb upwards to wipe it away gently, "Then I would be back in Vegas, attempting to make up for everyone that my mother has shortened or taken advantage of in her cocktail waitress gig. Because trust me Oliver, there are a lot of people that she has taken advantage of. Too many to count."

"I'm sorry Felicity. You derserved better than that."

"So did you." Felicity intoned, finally allowing her eyes to meet Oliver's again.

"I thought I had lost you, when you were laying on that floor. All I could think about was that I had lost you and that my world was falling apart, not to mention that I would never get to tell you the truth."

"Truth?" Felicity prompted quietly, adjusting her pillows and staring straight at him. Oliver let out a long breath, knowing that once he said the next words he could never go back. They could never just be Felicity, the brilliant IT girl and Oliver, the always late very helpless CEO who knew almost nothing about being a CEO. Well, they couldn't be that anyway unless he got his company back, but it was still the same thing.  
"I love you." Felicity's eyes widened, and he could see some type of emotion in her eyes that he would gladly see every day. Was it hope? He wasn't quite sure, but he continued, inspired by the response. "It wasn't a ploy. I love you. I have for awhile, but I didn't want to act on my feelings. I had hopes once that you would find some amazing guy and I would be content with you being happy, but then walked in Barry and I realized I could never be satisfied with you just being happy. I wanted you to be happy with me, as selfish as it was and,"

Oliver really wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow their lips met and tangled together, her hands falling behind his neck as she deepened the kiss and pressing herself tightly to them. "I love you."

He smiled against her lips and murmured a soft, "Good," before returning fully to the kiss.

That was where they still were, a few minutes later, when Diggle returned. With the newly appointed Officer Lance and Laurel at his side.

But neither party regretted a thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Oliver decides to propose to Felicity. Tommy Merlyn didn't die. He almost died, but he didn't.**

**So I really liked Tommy. I personally loved Laurel/Tommy because he just seemed so much better for her than Oliver was and they just seemed so much more realistic. So of course this is kind of AU, since Tommy is unfortunately dead, but I can dream right? **

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS!**

* * *

"There is the man of the hour!" Tommy didn't bother to stop at Oliver's office door, taking long strides and throwing himself down in a chair across from Oliver. Tommy wore a goofy grin like usual, but he frowned slightly at Oliver's lack of attention. Oliver had only raised an eyebrow without a word since Tommy's entrance, which was highly unusual, compared to normal. Tommy lazily sat backwards in his chair and propped his feet on Oliver's desk, knowing full well how annoyed his best friend usually became at the action. Sure enough, Oliver's face tightened and he slapped Tommy's feet with a rolled up newspaper before dropping the paper and sighing.

"What do you want, Tommy?" Oliver had known his friend long enough to know that when he was this ecstatic that it usually meant no good in terms of Oliver's love life or his family life. Usually someone would get mad at him for something done on the drunken escapades that Tommy would drag him off to, claiming that the Arrow needed some fun time. He didn't have the heart to tell him that Arrow work allowed him ample time to spend with his girlfriend, which made up for his general serious lifestyle.

"Can't a guy come down and visit his best friend anymore?" Tommy leaned forwards and grabbed an apple that Felicity had left on Oliver's desk, bringing to his lips and biting deeply into it. "Good lord, what has this world come to? Not even my best friend is pleased to see me!"  
Oliver chuckled. "I'm not pleased to see you with that expression. The last time you drug me off to some adventure, as you called it, both of our girlfriends had our heads. And I hate to tell you, but Laurel probably could dismember your head from your body now. Quite literally."  
Tommy frowned. "I had no idea that that guy was shooting me pure liquor! He was trying to get me drunk, I swear!"  
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Right. I think you were just upset that Laurel had to work on your anniversary and wanted to get back at her by doing something completely crazy. Anyway, I have no intention of getting Felicity mad at me again. Not now."  
Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Why is now so special?"

Oliver rearranged some files on his desk as he answered. "It's our anniversary on Friday. I have big plans, you know."  
Tommy took another bite of the apple, still chewing as he talked. "Like what?"

Oliver looked at his friend seriously for a few minutes, hesitant. On one hand, it would make sense to tell one of his closest friends his plan, but on the other, now really wasn't a good time to explain his personal plans. Tommy munched noisily on the apple, still staring impatiently.

"I do hope you aren't planning how to get my boyfriend in trouble again, Merlyn." Oliver grinned as Felicity's heels sounded from her adjoining office, gliding across the floor with a cup in her hand, which she offered to Oliver with a smile. Tommy opened his mouth wide to argue some line, but Oliver shook his head at him before turning back to his beautiful girlfriend. He rose from his chair and leaned across the desk to kiss her lightly on the lips, ignoring Tommy's loud and annoying pleas of disagreement.

"I didn't make Oliver do anything." Tommy finally responded, shooting Oliver a triumphant look. "So you can't really blame me for any of the above charges."  
"I can't, hmm?" Felicity raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips."I'm sure you weren't the one that blindfolded my boyfriend and snuck him into a strip club, either, right?"  
Tommy swallowed, shrugging as Oliver chuckled and grabbed Felicity's hand, bringing her closer to his side. "I was drunk..."  
"Of course you were. I'll remember that excuse if I ever decide to bring Laurel to a strip club, by the way." Felicity playfully squeezed Oliver's hand,but the CEO didn't look pleased at the thought. His face tightened and he dropped Felicity's hand, instead wrapping his arm around her waist blanched, wincing outwardly before wiping his hands on his pants.

"Remind me to never let you go partying with the girls alone." Oliver mused, his voice still hard and Felicity giggled, standing on her tip toes and pressing her lips to his before sneaking out of his grip and wobbling to the other side of the the kiss affected her more than she wanted to let on, which sent a gleeful smile to Oliver's face.

She was at the door when she paused, a smirk playing on her lips."Don't forget, Merlyn, you don't want to mess with a bitch with WiFi, either!"  
Oliver took one look at the pained expression on his friend's face and laughed, much to his friend's displeasure.

"You're dating a crazy woman." Tommy declared, stepping out of the elevator of Queen Consolidated,only a few steps behind Oliver himself. Oliver chuckled, shaking his head at his best friend. "It must be your type, first Helena..."  
Oliver scowled at him and he snapped his mouth shut, miming zipping his lips and throwing away the was one mistake that he didn't need reminding off, considering how she had almost killed both Sara and Felicity because of it. Tommy shrugged eventually, looking undisturbed at the territory he had gone into. "Well it is true, technically. Don't forget Sara, either, though, because she was pretty bad ass with a side of crazy."

Oliver rolled his eyes, holding up his hand in a wave at the security guard by the door. "Carefully where you go with this; she is your girlfriend's sister, and speaking of girlfriend..."

Tommy held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Leave it that we are both dating crazy women and we're even."

Oliver glanced around before ducking into a black car, tapping his leg as he waited for Tommy to slide in after him. Diggle arched an eyebrow from the driver seat, but Oliver only shrugged and Diggle snorted, slipping a pair of sunglasses up onto his nose. "I'm hoping that I won't be dating her for long, Tommy."

Diggle's eyebrow shot up but he didn't say anything as he turned a corner and Oliver moved so he could hiss the destination into his ear. Tommy blinked, looking between them with a bewildered expression. "You're going to break up with Felicity?"

Oliver proceeded to slap him across the head, causing Diggle to chuckle and Tommy to grasp at the sore spot with his right hand. "Of course not, you idiot!"  
Tommy rubbed his neck with a glower. "Well how was I supposed to know you were planning to propose to her?"  
"You'd think it would be a lot more likely then me breaking up with her, you idiot." Oliver shook his head with a scowl. "Do you think I really want to ruin my life?"

Diggle pulled off the road and into the parking lot of Starling City's National Bank, much to Tommy's confusion. Oliver briefly wondered if he was always so simple minded, or if it was a new development. Diggle looked back at Tommy and Oliver with a knowing expression and Oliver rolled his eyes as he got of the car, wondering if Diggle would take pity on Tommy and explain the business of proposing and the need for a ring to even have a chance at being successful.

A young female looked up as Oliver entered the bank, straightening almost immediately and her hand flying to her hair, as if simply running a hand over her hair would fix any potential problems she might have with it. A recognizing glint entered her eyes as he approached, her smile broadening as she waved him over. "Mr. Queen, how can I help you?"

Oliver wondered momentarily if he had met her before, deciding after a second he really didn't want to know if she had been on of his many conquests before he was stranded on an island for five years. He didn't need any reminders of the asshole had had been, he could remember himself well enough on his own without that hanging over his head. "I need to get something out of the Queen family safe deposit box, if you wouldn't mind."

The woman nodded, typing on the computer for a few seconds before nodding and gesturing for him to follow her as she led him away from the desk and through a hallway, stopping as they got to a metal band gate. "Thomas!"  
A security guard looked up from down the hall, nodding as he walked over to them and slid his key into the lock and twisted, sending the door open with a nod to the woman. "There you go, Miley."  
"You have your key?" Miley queried, hovering by the door for a moment and Oliver nodded. Miley stayed by the doorway for a few more moments before nodding and spinning around, apparently taking up conversation with the security guard for the time being. Oliver let out a long sigh and opened the deposit box, eyes coming to rest on a silver band at the very type. A significantly large diamond was centered in the middle with smaller gems situated around the pretty diamond. Oliver rolled the ring around in his palm for a moment, nodding before tightening his grip between his fingers on the ring and locking the box back into place. Felicity wouldn't usually wear such large jewelry, but she would appreciate the family history surrounding the ring that he doubted she would dislike the ring. Besides, it was colorful, which was one of Felicity's favorite styles. Bright and colorful, that is.

"Found what you were..." Miley stepped back into the room, her eyes coming to rest on the ring and she paused, before a smile grew across her face. "I heard you were dating Felicity Smoak. I like her."  
Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You know Felicity Smoak?"

Miley nodded absently. "We went to school together. She was always very smart and pretty. All of the boys at MIT had a crush on her, but she never seemed to realize it." Her eyes were still drawn to the ring. "She'll like it. She likes colorful things."  
Oliver nodded, but even he couldn't deny his curiosity was heightened. He had yet to meet any of Felicity's fellow classmates from Vegas or MIT, except, now it seems, Miley. "Were you guys close?"  
Miley didn't respond right away. She looked as if she was carefully trying to figure out what to say, which was made obvious by the careful tone she used when she did speak. "Not exactly. Are you done, sir?"  
Oliver nodded, reluctantly leaving the room and trailing after Miley as she rushed back behind her desk, her heels clamping across the floor loudly as she did so.

Who ever this Miley was, she had something to do with Felicity's past. And he was determined to find out just how much.

"What did you do all day?" Felicity asked that night, sitting at her desk in the lair with her fingers pecking at the keys dedicatedly and with quick rhythm. Oliver was hanging off the bar of the salmon ladder, all the way at the top, so Felicity had to almost yell for him to hear her. He pulled himself above the bar once more before dropping to the ground. He landed almost directly in front of her desk, grinning as she jumped and subsequently backed up in the rolling chair and almost tumbling over in the motion. She frowned at him, standing up and grabbing his forgotten shirt from the med table and throwing it at him as she kept her eyes trained at the monitor. He chuckled as he pulled the shirt over her head, straightening the hem and leaning against her desk. His hand crossed over her desk and absently played with her hair, rolling strains over his fingers before twirling a piece around his thumb. "Buisness meetings and such."  
Felicity looked up, tilting her head at him as she arched an eyebrow. "Buisness." She repeated with so much disbelief in her voice that it scared him. "Right."  
Oliver sighed. "I had to run some errands with Tommy, that's all. Don't worry about it, okay, Felicity?"  
Felicity stared at him for a few more seconds before nodding and returning her gaze to the computer. "I've found email correspondences between Winkels and Thrownton. Seems that they will be closing their drug deal in the foreseeable future, but they haven't set a date yet. I've tracked their phones and it looks like Thrownton is getting closer to Starling City, but slowly. He seems to be taking his time."  
He nodded, not fully paying attention. Felicity was able to tell when he was lying, so it was doubtful that she did believed him that he had simply been running errands. While it was somewhat the truth, she probably suspected that he was purposely leaving out information and would attempt to find it on her own time. He would have to keep her busy, in whatever way he could, until Thursday.

"Oliver!" Felicity snapped her fingers in front of his face and he jumped, realizing quickly that he had missed her addition of information. He shook his head and wiped his hands over his face, looking back at Felicity. She looked really beautiful, but then again, she always did. Her lips were covered with a light pink gloss and she had wore a somewhat darker shade of pink blouse and accompanied it with a white skirt. Her pale skin on her long legs were just visible beneath the desk, giving him perfect view of the start of her thighs. "I was saying that I have alerts sent to my cell phone if Thrownton gets within fifty miles of Starling City and that it is possible that it might end up being about midday when the alert goes off. It will be soon, by my calculations and observations of Thrownton's usual pace. He likes going slow, believing that will make him seem less suspicious."  
"That sounds perfect, Felicity." Oliver shook his head and sighed. He leaned over the desk and lightly applied his lips to her forehead before standing. "So Felicity..."  
She looked up, quirking her eyebrow almost immediately. "Yeah?"  
"I was thinking that we would take off Arrow duty on Friday. Go out to eat at a restaurant I heard of. I hear it has the most amazing wine."  
Felicity's lips curved upwards and he couldn't help but beam at her. She grabbed his neck and brought his face to hers, their lips crashing together with a sudden fierceness that wound them both up in a compromising position a few minutes later, when Roy entered the lair and screamed girlishly.

Oliver couldn't summon up the energy to regret it, though. It was pretty funny hearing Roy scream like a girl.

"This is amazing!" Felicity didn't even set the wine glass down, bringing the glass to her lips and taking long gulps. Oliver chuckled, bringing his hand across the table and touching her wrist, pulling the wine glass away from her.

"Don't drink it all at once. You won't make it long enough to get our food." Oliver advised, but he couldn't help but grin at the sparkle in Felicity's eyes. He would do anything to make sure that light never left her eyes, to ensure she could always be as happy as she seemed to be right now. Their legs touched underneath the table and he saw Felicity's face flame, only to be overtook by a light laugh that sent shivers to his heart. He loved the way he knew he could make her feel, the way he could still make her embarrassed even though they had been together for a year. An official year, technically. That is if you didn't count the years they circled around each others like tigers, as Roy had often said.

"I love this." Felicity breathed. Her eyes focused on Oliver's and he reached across the table and slid his hand over hers, squeezing lightly. He didn't need a longer explanation of what she loved; it was pretty obvious that she wasn't just talking about the dinner or restaurant.

"I love you." Oliver leaned across the table and caught her lips lightly, taking her by surprise. She laughed into his lips, lacing her fingers with his before pulling back a little, tilting her head at him for a second.  
"This feels right, doesn't it? I've never felt like this with a different guy, like I could just stay in this moment forever and I'll be okay. Like I could have nothing but you and I would still be the happiest woman alive." She shook her head for a moment. "God, that is cheesy. Sorry. It sounded more sentimental and less like something out of a romance novel in my head. Not that I read romance novels. I don't. Okay, on occasion. Usually when I'm alone around holidays when most people are having sex. I didn't just say that, did I? For someone so smart-3,2,1," Felicity let out a long sigh. "Sorry."  
Oliver was still grinning. He shook his head and ran his thumb over her cheek, loving the way she leaned into his hand and let her eyes flutter shut. "It feels right, Felicity. It feels...perfect."  
He wasn't sure how long they stared into each other's eyes, both grinning like idiots. Felicity was just starting to lean towards him when her phone vibrated on the table. Some type of recollection appeared in her eyes and she grabbed it, paling as she read. "Oliver..."  
"Felicity." Oliver spoke with a hard tone, already standing up to run. "What's going on?"

"The drug deal. It's going down now. Thrownton sent someone else ahead to finish the job for him." She continued to read, eyes widening. "They're going to break into the hospital and trade some of the pills for their drug."

Oliver threw a few bills on the table and grabbed Felicity's wrist, swerving around tables and flashing out the door. The hostess didn't have time to stop them, not that she couldn't anyway. Felicity slid into the passenger seat and grabbed a spare green hoodie, throwing it at Oliver before texting Diggle the now info. Oliver slid off his tuxedo jacket and handed it back to Felicity, whom tossed it in the back as he jumped into the driver seat and started the ignition with a quick turn of his wrist. "Address, Felicity."  
"An abandoned warehouse on Timber Street. South Timber Street," She jabbed her phone a few times before nodding,"6293."  
Oliver gunned the engine and swerved out of the parking lot, light curses stringing out of his mouth before he glanced at Felicity out of the corner of his eyes. Felicity was digging around in the back seat, pulling out a knife which she offered to Oliver. "I don't have any arrows sitting around in here, and apparently you don't either."

Oliver managed a small smile. "I'll make do. Digg will meet us there? Anyone else?"

Felicity bit her lip. "I can ask..."  
"Don't. It will just distract him. I'd prefer to have an arrow and bow as soon as possible when taking down a drug deal."

Felicity nodded, typing something into her phone. "It looks like the guy that Thrownton sent ahead is only twenty. Risky, to me. He's more likely to be careless, to get caught."  
"It's a test." Oliver didn't even think about the words before they left his mouth, but as soon as they were in the open between them it became dead obvious what was going on. Thrownton seemed to be trying to test this kid for his loyalty and ability. He didn't care if he died, or got caught, or even tried to tattle on him. He probably assumed that by staying a certain distance away he could make a quick escape and be gone by the time the authorities decided to investigate the lead.

"We need to disable communications between Thrownton, somehow." Oliver noted, trusting that Felicity would get his drift.

"On it. I should be able to shut off all signals going to his phone, mask it somehow." Felicity continued to type on her phone, frowning. "Oliver, are we almost there?"  
Oliver pushed the accelerator pedal down slightly farther towards the floorboard. "A few minutes. Why?"  
Felicity let out a shaky breath. "Because the drug deal is already in affect. I don't want to..."

Felicity's hand went to her lips as Oliver's pushed the accelerator pedal almost to the floor, going at least twenty miles over the legal limit. Oliver's face was set, determined, and Felicity crossed her arms and gripped the door with one hand, shutting her eyes. "This is so not how I imagined my night going."  
"Tell me about it." Oliver grumbled, swerving to an exit ramp and finally pulling into a parking lot of a fairly large building. If the parking lot itself was any indicator, the area was rarely used and never maintained. The darkness hid the overall appearance of the building itself, but Oliver had to avoid enough holes in the pavement and long scratches that would surely cause damage to their vehicle in the process. Felicity let out a nervous sigh and swung the door open before Oliver could argue. He eased his way easily out of the car, lips turned downwards in obvious disapproval but she knew he was too anxious and hurried to argue with her move.

"At least put on my suit jacket." Oliver said tersely, moving towards the building quietly. Felicity arched an eyebrow at his retreating figure but shrugged to herself, opening the back door and sliding her arms into his black jacket. It smelled overwhelmingly like him; spicy but warm, so Oliver that she pulled the jacket around her tighter and shut her eyes just for a second. She could imagine her arms around his waist, his lips pressed against her lips and his voice as he murmured soft promises and his hopes quietly. His hands slipping to the hem of her shirt, slowly sliding it over her head...

Of course, in a life or death situation, that man could still turn her into a blabbering mess. She laughed to herself before rushing to catch up, sliding into the same door Oliver had disappeared through. The door slammed shut with a loud thud before she could catch it and she saw a quick movement in the shadows. An arm closed around her wrist and she had all intentions of shouting before she felt strong hands leap in front of her mouth. Almost deciding to bite down on her captor's fingers when she felt soft lips on the side of her neck. Her pleasure spot. The spot that only Oliver knew about.

Guessing that his not so subtle way of letting her know who he was, she guessed that she was supposed to stay quiet and she felt her body relax. His grip loosened and he entwined his fingers through hers with just a bit of urgency as he led her to another group of shadows. Felicity had barely noticed that they weren't alone, but when Oliver continued to lead her along the wall she noticed the slight hum of voices.

"I need you to stay here." Oliver whispered into her ear after they had finally managed to slide far enough into the clear that they had a view of the drug dealings. It looked like a bunched up circle from her point of view, but she guessed that Thrownton's man was in the middle. Most likely far from where he had planned on things going tonight. Felicity felt a protest leave her lips but Oliver had already let go of her hand and cleared his throat awfully loudly as he appeared in the lights. The hood covered enough of his face in the dimly lit warehouse, so identity was among a few of the things that Felicity didn't have the worry about. Her hands were shaking and she wiped them nervously on his jacket before finally conceding and letting them fall into the pockets and clutching the insides tightly. A hard surface, almost feeling like something made of metal, brushed against her knuckle but she didn't have the energy or the curiosity to look at it right now.

The drug dealers had turned their attention away from the young man and were looking at Oliver with mild interest. One grinned, nodding at Oliver with pure enjoyment all over his face. "Where are your arrows, pussy boy?"  
Oliver didn't seem to fine the taunt very threatening. He continued moving towards them, keeping his chin tilted so his face wouldn't be completely visible as he moved to the far left cautiously. "I don't need my arrows to break your neck." He purposely let his voice drift into a deeper, harsher tone that someone would hide his voice without his voice mask. Felicity's chest was tight and she had a driving feeling to join Oliver, but knew that she couldn't. Oliver wanted her there, most likely to get Diggle's attention when he arrived. The drug dealer swallowed and stepped back hesitantly, apparently not quite as buff and fearless as he was trying to make Arrow believe.

"You don't do killing anymore!" She wasn't sure who had yelled this time, but she knew it hadn't been the original dealer. He himself had fallen back into the circle.

"Only in extreme circumstances." Oliver circled them slowly, making it increasingly obvious that he was attempting to collect time. Intimidation would work for awhile, at least. Hopefully until Diggle got here with Oliver's arrows. "And I consider these extreme."  
"Just a drug deal!"

"We are armed and you aren't! We can easily take you!"

"I bet there is a pretty price on your head. Perfect for ransom!"

"Just leave us be!"  
The consecutive shouts didn't do much to Oliver's composure, unsurprisingly. "Mixed feelings among the group. Should I have given you time to discuss what your escape tactic would be?"  
The shouts stopped almost immediately and Oliver's words proceeded to be met with hushed whispers instead. Felicity let out a long sigh and attempted to distract herself, turning her attention to the mysterious metal surface by her finger. She wiggled her fingers in the pocket, smiling when her finger made contact with the cool surface and plucking it out with her fingers. A gasp followed, which she proceeded to muffle by bringing her available to hand to her mouth. She glanced upward, out at Oliver to see that his back had tensed but otherwise there didn't seem to be any evidence that those involved in the drug deal heard. She slid the ring safely onto her finger with a small smile before dropping her hands and watching the exchange carefully.

Felicity narrowed her eyes, sending her eyes in a search around the warehouse. The soft chatter of voices had stopped, but not all had quieted. There was still some light ticking sound that was faint, but loud enough to send tingles down Felicity's spine. Before she had met Oliver Queen and his counterpart the Arrow she probably wouldn't have even noticed or thought much of it.

Now she did.

Her eyes rested on something in the shadows. A small current of light, forming in what looked to be rapidly changing numbers. Felicity surged forwards, staying within the shadows to hide her as she quickly focused her attention on the stepped lightly on the floor, careful not to let her heels come to the ground in an quick tap or slam that would alert everyone else of her presence. Easier said then done, sadly. She finally crouched to the floor and slid her right foot out of the nice pair of black heels and pressed her heel to the floor before sliding her other foot out and pressing it firmly onto the cold concrete.

The device was small, but it didn't take Felicity's mind to process that it was obviously a small bomb. She fingered with the wires in a quick attempt to disengage and otherwise completely make the bomb useless, but they didn't budge. Felicity knew enough about electronics and mechanics to know that the blast from the small bomb, by how it appeared, would be enough to level at least half of the old warehouse. By the calculated explode time, she seemingly doubted that the drug dealers even were aware of the ending of the timer, or they wouldn't be anywhere near this warehouse. When it comes to thought, she wouldn't be either. It didn't make sense, really. Why would someone only place a small bomb in the warehouse? Depending on the location of the people in the warehouse at the time, it was quite possible that there would be survivors.

Unless there was a second bomb.

Her head became as light as air and she groaned, making another attempt to pry the wires loose. They didn't even move in the connection socket, seemingly making it seem impossible to release them. Who ever had constructed the bomb hadn't wanted a back up plan. They just wanted destruction.

"Arrow!" Felicity stood up and pressed her hands in a circle around her lips to make the sound louder, but she wouldn't have needed. She was just glad enough that she hadn't revealed his name to the drug dealers in her panic. She saw his body tense at her sudden call, probably absolutely pissed that she had drawn attention to herself. She made a quick waving motion and pointed wildly at the bomb by her feet. He narrowed his eyes, apparently having a difficult time with the darkness, but she must have managed enough fuss because he bypassed the drug dealers and joined her at her side.  
"What the hell, Fe..." He zoned off as his eyes were drawn down to the bomb, immediatly bending down and attempting the same wires she had just attempted to release. She made a hissing sound, bending down beside him. "You honestly don't think I tried that already?"

His shoulders lifted upwards momentarily as he reached backwards where his arrows were usually at, wincing when he realized he didn't have them. "Where the hell is Digg?" Oliver shook his head and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a standing position. "You need to get out of here."  
"There is probably another bomb." She relayed, gesturing at the size. "If someone is going to plant a bomb somewhere, they would want to make sure there were no survivors."

"Which means that you really need to get out of here. I'm being serious, Felicity. Get out." Oliver placed his hand on her back and gently nudged her towards the exit, but she tensed and crossed her arms in stubbornness.

"I'm not leaving if you're not. You stay, I stay." Felicity relayed firmly, showing him her finger. "If we get out of here, the answer is yes. Well it is yes if we don't get out of here, but..."  
Oliver's eyes widened at the sight of the ring but he nodded, grabbing the hand. "We don't have much time, Felicity. The drug dealers..."  
"Will either perish inside or will escape out that entrance, where you can threaten them all the same. Digg will be showing up soon. We should both get out for now. Digg was going to get police back up anyway." Felicity pulled him in the direction of the door, and even though she could feel his reluctance he started to walk after her. She picked up into a run, Oliver keeping perfect pace with her as they made way for the door. The drug dealers were in a buzz,apparently thinking that they had managed to scare away the Arrow, somehow, by the help of some unknown female. She was sure to keep to the shadows as they reached the doorway, yanking it but her heart began to beat faster when it didn't budge. Oliver made a noise in his throat and attempted to open it himself, but the door didn't move for him either. "It's stuck."

"It's old." Felicity murmured, shrugging off his jacket and handing it back to him."You might as well have this, if we're going to die here."

Oliver made a deep growling noise and shook his head fiercely. "We are not going to die. There has to be someway to at least deactivate one of the bombs. Maybe the second isn't as tight..."  
"We don't know where it is. Oliver, listen," She pulled him closer and buried her head into his chest. "If I'm going to die, I want to at least die with you. Together."  
Oliver stared into her eyes, lightly pressing his lips to hers just for a moment. "I would like that." She nodded, but he continued. "But that day isn't going to be today." He held up a knife, causing Felicity to blink at the shining light in confusion."I picked it up off the ground as we were walking. I think that if we can cut one of the wires, the bomb will be useless. Deactivated, at least. I know it is ruthless, but we don't have much action without a bomb squad or any of my supplies."

Felicity swallowed but she nodded, shutting her eyes tightly to focus on what she could hear. "Who ever set up the bombs would have wanted equal pressure on both sides. The second bomb would be directly across from the first one, if they truly wanted to make sure that no one survived."  
Oliver nodded, squeezing her hand tightly before jumping off into another cloud of darkness. She knew that he didn't want her to follow, but she wasn't going to let him go alone.

She heard the faint ticking as she traveled through the pit of darkness, finally seeing the faint outline of Oliver's shoulders hunched over a few more feet from her. His shoulders stiffened when he heard her footsteps, but he didn't say anything as he attempted to slice through the thick wires. She knelt next to him, gently slipping her hand against the wire and trying to throw them loose. Oliver was weakening them, but it wasn't fast enough. Her mind raced for some solution. There would have had to be some way that the bombs could be disabled, or how else would they have tested the things? Something...

She flipped a cord over in her fingers, noticing that this bomb was a tad different than the other one. Slightly smaller, but most likely seemingly more powerful. There had to be something, anything, that would disable it. Some type of control panel or circuit board or...

"Oliver..." She hissed, drawing his attention away from the wire. "Look at this. It's an enclosure. I bet if you opened it..."  
"We could control it." Oliver murmured, bringing his knife to her hands and gently working at the enclosure. "If we don't survive this, Felicitiy..."  
"I know. But we will survive this, okay. Slowly, Oliver, you don't want to touch the wrong thing." A light click sounded and Felicity let out a small sigh of relief. "Open."

Luckily for her, the panel was easy enough and all she had to do was use Oliver's knife to slice through the small tiny wires routing the panel and the soft ticking sound disappeared. Oliver chuckled, straightening and offering his hand to her. Felicity slowly stood up, feeling momentarily relieved. "I disabled a bomb. I never thought I would say that, you know...Oliver!"  
His eyes widened in remembrance."We can still get to..."

The world shook around Felicity and she couldn't hear anything but the loud bang as the first bomb exploded, rocking the warehouse and sending pieces of it falling around. Oliver cursed and grabbed Felicity's hand as more remnants of the ceiling flew downwards to the floor and almost slamming right on the two, if Oliver hadn't swerved on last thought. She knew she would never forget the screams of the drug dealers as they fought for their lives, but she didn't have time to look to see how many were still alive. Dust had started to rise from the fallen debris and somehow managed to slip into her lungs, causing loud hacking coughs to take over her chest. She heard Oliver shout her name as her fingers lost his and darkness slowly began to cloud around her, staring with her eyes until she could feel cold cement around her and heard one last distinctive yell of her name before the entire world disappeared.

Oliver let out a soft cough as he fully exited the cloud of dust, kneeling down on the ground and setting Felicity down on the hard street surface. Cops were all over, taping off the scene and yelling orders to each other as the yellow tape soon began to be put up and radios were sounding from every direction. Felicity's face was covered in dust and he quickly checked her pulse, managing a small sigh of relief when he felt it's faint rhythm continue steadily. He managed to prop open her mouth, astonished only momentarily by the extreme amounts of dust that had settled over her tongue and teeth. He applied just enough pressure to her chest to send quick hacking sounds to her throat and soon a cough had taken over her body. Her eyes opened quickly, and she gasped for a better breath, propping herself up on her elbows. "Oliver..."  
"I'm right here." He wrapped his hand around her own and smiled at her, amazed that even when she was less than perfect she still looked amazing. Dust settled over her from head to toe and there was a small cut across her forehead, but she still looked beautiful. She would always looked beautiful, at least to him.

"We need to get outta here." Felicity murmured, managed to sit straight up. "You're all Arrowish."

"I don't have a bow and arrow and this is just a green sweatshirt. I'm pretty sure that we'll be fine." Oliver assured her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and hiding her into his chest. "God Felicity. You scared the hell out of me."

"I'm right here." She murmured, holding up her left hand and staring at the ring on it. Oliver let out a soft chuckle, touching the ring with his finger lightly.

"I like it on you."

Felicity grinned, nodding. "Good. You're not getting it back."

"I think I can learn to be okay with that." Felicity pressed her lips to his, still smiling. "Good."


	3. Chapter 3

Felicity grinned as she dropped the stick, holding her hand out to Sara with eyes full of amusement. Sara shook her help away; wiping her face dry from the sweat that had begun to drip down her cheeks. She dusted her pants off before finally looking up and smiling at Felicity. "Nice. You have been practicing, since I was gone. A lot, by the looks of it."  
Felicity shrugged. "I had good teachers."  
Sara's eyebrow arched. "Oh?"  
Felicity ducked her head, turning away and grabbing her bottle of water. Sara followed her off of the mat, crossing her arms and giving her a I-know-there-is-more-than-you-are-letting-on look. Felicity sighed but attempted to shake her head in a dismissal of the conversation, but Sara smirked.  
"Diggle must be a really good teacher." Sara prompted.  
"He is." Felicity said shortly, turning to her computer and typing. Sara continued to look at her and finally she groaned and sat back, closing her eyes. "It was a field mission. It should have been simple, a get in get out thing. Things didn't go as planned, however."  
"They don't usually." Sara chirped, still smirking. Felicity let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.  
"I was supposed to bug a high up business guy. He didn't like it much, I turned bad all at once. The situation went quickly from a general mission to a hostage situation. I was a hostage." Felicity smiles bitterly. "He seemed to guess that I was working with the Arrow. He took me to the top of the building. There..were threats up there. Oliver showed up, put an arrow in his shoulder and here we are." Felicity shook herself and turned away from Sara, walking over to the tech set up and throwing herself down in the spinning rolling chair. Sara's smile fell but she leaned against the tech desk, resting her hand on Felicity's shoulder. "Lissie, what aren't you telling me?"

"No...nothing." Felicity's voice shook and Sara moved even closer, kneeling so she could stare into Felicity's eyes. Neither spoke for the longest time, until finally a dry sob echoed in Felicity's chest and she spun the chair around, covering her face with her hands.  
"You can't tell Oliver. Please. You can't."  
Sara relocated herself directly in front of Felicity and murmured something to herself, before managing to summon enough of her voice to speak. "What happened?"

Felicity's voice was shaking. "It was dark. The guy...he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. I was wearing a button up shirt and he ripped the fabric, stripping it from me. I tried to get away. I guess that didn't please him much either, because he smashed my head into the wall and was hitting me until finally I couldn't stand anymore. My pants came off next."

Sara muttered a few choice curse words and wrapped her arms around Felicity's shoulders. "Did he..."  
Felicity's sobs became louder. "Almost. He had rid himself of his own pants when I finally managed to roll away.I don't know how I did it, but I managed to get to the bathroom and hide from him. That didn't stop himself from enjoying himself before that, though. Oh Sara, you can't tell Oliver! He doesn't know, I just couldn't tell him and...just please Sara, promise me you won't!"

Sara forced herself to swallow but finally managed a quick nod. "It isn't my place."

Felicity nodded, looking slightly reassured and attempted deeper breaths. "I asked them to train me but I never told them the truth. I couldn't bear their sympathetic looks or how they would treat me different. I couldn't just be another weak girl that allowed herself to be a victim like that."

Sara shook her head extremely fast, moving closer to Felicity. "Diggle and Oliver and Roy, they wouldn't think that. I want you to know that; you need to know that. You mean way too much to them. You're like Diggle's younger sister, or Roy's older sister. Oliver..." Sara let out sigh. "He loves you. You really need to tell him."  
Felicity shook her head repeatedly. "No! I can't! I can't have him thinking I'm weak or a wimp. I'm finally showing them that I can be useful, besides just hacking into basic systems. I can't lose that."  
"Oliver deserves to know, Felicity. He needs to know the truth." Sara replied firmly, but her eyes held a knowing glint in them. It wasn't like she didn't know how it felt to be seen as a helpless girl, and how hard you fought to show everyone otherwise.

"There won't be a need for that."

Felicity spun in the rolling chair to face the voice of the forementioned archer, her glazed eyes widening as Oliver stepped out from the shadows. He wore a grim expression and Sara couldn't help but sigh in relief.

Felicity quickly rose from the desk and grabbed her jacket, tears rolling down her face in quick succession as she attempted to sneak out of the lair. Oliver cut her off, grabbing ehr arms and gently pulling her towards him and enclosing her into his chest, his chiseled arms wrapping tightly around her body. His chin rested on Felicity's head as Sara straightened, anticipating to give the two privacy.

"I didn't realize you were back, Sara." Oliver's voice was soft as his hand rolled over Felicity's back in a comforting gesture.  
Sara's eyes didn't leave Felicity. "Just got into town last night. Crashed at Felicity's."  
Oliver nodded quickly. "That's good."  
Sara nodded, turning away from the two."Yep. See you guys later."  
Oliver nodded again as Felicity's let her tears fall into Oliver's chest, the entire time Oliver whispering soothing words into her ear until the sobs subsided and she attempted to back away from him. He didn't release his grip, grabbing her hand and squeezing gently.  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Oliver played with her hair, staring into her eyes. Felicity swallowed and adverted her gaze, staring at her exercise clothes as she spoke.  
"I didn't want you worry about me, or break your promise to Tommy again. I..."  
Oliver cupped her chin. "Hey," He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, eyes staring at her intensely. "You know that you can come to me with anything at anytime. I'm here for you. Don't worry about me breaking my promise to Tommy; trust me, he would understand teaching a lesson to a guy like that. I need you to understand that you can come to me. With anything."

Felicity nodded slowly, her eyes growing sharper as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She stood on her tip toes and brushed her lips softly to his own, sending his head spinning. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her hips closer to his.  
"I love you, Felicity Smoak."  
Felicity's lips slowly turned upwards. "I think I can handle that. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not yelling at me. For just being you. For standing here and allowing yourself to make me the luckiest girl in the world." Felicity let her eyes close as she buried her face into his shoulder. "Just thank you."

"You're wrong, Felicity." Oliver whispered, his grip tightening around her. "You made me the luckiest man in the world. All I did was supply you with damaged goods. And to be quite honest, I would love to visit that son of a bitch later with my sharp arrows. Don't make me some saint, 'cause I definitely am not one."

"Who ever said I needed a saint? All I need, Oliver Queen, is you."


End file.
